Socket- wrench



A. STERN.

SOCKETWRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24, 1920.

1,848,692. Paten-wi June I5, 1920.

x h I IIIII UNITED STATES ADOIJF STERN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SOCKET-WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 15, 1920.

Application filed February 24, 1920. Serial N o. 360,904.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ADoLF STERN, having declared my. intention of becoming a citi Zen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Socket-VVrenches and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has to do with improvements in socket wrenches such as are used for manipulating the nuts on bolts and the tap screws in motors and the like. The 1nvention has particular reference to at construction of socket wrench which is especially intended for making it more convenient to manipulate the nuts which hold in place the connecting rod blocks .of the connecting rods in certain automobile engines, such for example as that in the Ford car. In some of these engines the crank cases are so designed that it is impossible to manipulate the nuts which hold in place the connecting rod blocks without the necessity of completely removing the crank case; and the socket -wrench herein disclosed is very well adapted for use in these locations. I wish it distinctly understood, however, that I do not limit the use of the features of the present invention to wrenches for the above purpose, except as I may do so in the claims.

One of the objects of the' invention is to provide a form of ratchet wrench which is so constructed that it may be used -for either tightening or loosening the nuts lby simply swinging the wrench handle back and forth through a relatively small arc. The wrench of the present invention is so constructed that it may be used for either tightening or loosening the nut by simply changing the adjustment of the wrench itself.

Another object of the invention is to provide a very simple and strong type of construction, and one which can be very cheaply manufactured from a minimum number of parts.

Other objects and uses of the invention will appear from a detailed description of the same which consists in the features of construction and combinations `of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing: j

Figure 1 shows a side 'elevation of a wrench embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a face View Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged longitudinal section through the operating head of the wrench;

Fig. 4 shows a cross section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 shows a cross section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows. n

The wrench illustrated in the drawings includes a head portion 6 and operating` handle 7. The head 6 is provided with a nut engaging portion 8 having a socket 9 of suitable shape and size to take the head of the nut or tap screw for which the wrench is particularly designed. This nut engaging portion 8 will generally be made of tapered form as is clearly illustrated in cross section in Fig. 3.

The back side of the head is provided with a cylindrical socket 10. The bottom face of said socket is toothed or serrated with teeth or serrations 11. rllhe outer end of the recess 10 is normally closed by a cap plate or block 12 held in place by a series of radial set screws 13. rIhe inner face 14 of the block 12 is also toothed or serrated with radial teeth or serrations; but the teeth 11 and 14 are cut so that they face in opposite directions. one set of teeth having working faces looking in one direction of rotation of the head block 6, and the other set of teeth having working faces looking in the other direction of rotation of the head block.

The handle 7 has a radial stem 15 which extends through the head block 12, and may rotate therein as well as being allowed to slide in and out. On the inner end of the stem l5 is secured an operating block 16. This operating block has one face provided with radial teeth or serrations 17 adapted to engage the teeth or serrations 11 when the block turns in one direction and adapted to slide past 4the teeth 11 lwhen the block turns in the other direction. of the block 16 is provided with radial. teeth or serrations 18 adapted to engage the teeth or serrations 14 when the block 16 turns in the one direction and adapted to slide over corresponding to The back face the teeth or serrations 14 when the block 16 turns in the other direction.

It will be evident that by simply moving the handle and head block 16 back and forth, the block 6 may be readily rateheted in one direction or the other. I have provided means for retaining the block 16 in engagement with the teeth 11 or the teeth 111 as selected. This means comprises a series of balls 19, 2O and 21 working in radial recesses 22, 23 and 2a of the block 6. Springs are provided for projecting the balls inwardly until limited by the configurations of the inner ends of the recesses in which they work, screws 26 closing the recesses and serving as abutments for the springs. When the balls are fully provided inwardly as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, they slightly overlap the periphery of the block 16, and tend to hold the same in either the forward or backward position within the recess 10. L

Ordinarily the operator in using this wrench will exert a certain amount of pressure on the handle tending thereby to hold the block 6 in firm engagement with the head of the nut or tap screw. When the block 16 is in the outer position or left hand position of Fig. 3 the exertion of such pressure would naturally tend to cause the block 16 to shift back toward the right hand side of Fig. 3 and thus reverse the operation of the ratchets. A spring 27 is interposed between the block 6 and the inner end of the handle stem 15 which spring 27 exerts a suicient pressure to resist the normal amount of such tendency on the part of the operator. That is to say, in order to shift .the block 16 back into the position shown in Fig. 3, it is necessary for the operator to exert an unusual amount of pressure on the handle. Furthermore, a ball 28 may be provided working within a recess 29 in the stem 15 under the pressure of a spring 80, which ball will normally be projected outwardly by said spring pressure until limited by the configuration of the recess 29. When the stem 15 is pulled to the left in Fig. 3 so as to engage the teeth 18 with the teeth 14, the ball 28 will project slightly beyond the surface of the stem 15, and will thereby overlie the outside face of the block 12 a slight amount. This will assist in holding the handle and block 16 in the desired position.

While I have herein shown and described `only a single embodiment of my invention, still I do not limit myself to the said embodiment except as I may do so in the claims.

' I claim:

1. A socket wrench or the like comprising in combination a wrench head block having in one end a socket forengagement with the head o f a nut or the like, and having in its other .end a circular socket, a closure for the outer end of said circular socket, there being a series of radially extending ratchet teeth on the inner face of the circular recess, and there being another series of radially extending ratchet teeth on the inner face of said closure, the teeth of the first mentioned series working in opposite direction from the teeth of the second mentioned series, a handle shank extending through the closure of the recess aforesaid, an enlarged head on the inner end of said shank located between the two series of teeth aforesaid, radially extending ratchet teeth on the opposite faces of said enlarged head of suitable form to engage respectively with the first and second mentioned sets ofratchet teeth, the depth of the circular socket being suficient to permit of reciprocating movement of the shank and enlarged head for the purpose of disengaging the teeth on one face of the head from one of said sets of teeth and carry ing the other teeth of the head into engagement with the other of said sets of teeth, there being a series of radially extending recesses in the wrench head having their inner ends in communication with the circular socket aforesaid, a ball movably mounted in each of said radially extending recesses, a spring tending to move each ball inwardly to a position where its face overlaps the cylindrical surface of the circular socket, whereby said balls conjointly engage one or the other faces of the enlarged head tending to retain the same in a given position within the circu lar socket, and an axially extending compression spring interposed between the wrench head and the end of the shank aforesaid, substantially as described.

2. A socket wrench or the like comprising in combination a wrench head block having in one end means for engagement with the head of a nut or the like, and having on its interior a circular axially extending socket, there being a series of radially extending ratchet teeth on the inner face of the circular socket, and there being another series of radially extending ratchet teeth in fixed position with respect to the outer eud of the circular socket, the teeth of the first mentioned series working in opposite direction from the teeth of the second mentioned series, a handle shank extending axially through the wrench head block into said circular socket, an enlarged head on the inner end of said shank between the two series of teeth aforesaid, radially extending ratchet teeth on the opposite faces of said enlarged head of suitable form to engage respectively the first and second mentioned sets of ratchet teeth, the depth of the circular socket being sufficient to permit of reciprocating movement of the shank and enlarged head for the purpose of disengaging the teeth on one face of the head from one of said sets of teeth, and carrying the other teeth of the head into engagement with the other oi said sets of teeth, means in the Wrench head block tending to retain the enlarged head in engagement With either of the sets of ratchet teeth selectively, and an axially extending compression spring interposed between the Wrench head block and the end of the shank aforesaid, substantially as described.

3. A socket Wrench or the like comprising in combination a Wrench head block having one end of suitable construction for engagement With the head of a nut or the like, and hav-ing on its interior an axially extending circular socket, there being radially extending ratchet teeth in iiXed relation With respect to the inner and outer faces of said socket, said sets of teeth being suitably Jformed to Work in opposite directions of rotation of the Wrench head block, a handle shank extending axially into said circular socket, an enlarged head on the inner end of said shank located Within the circular socket, radially extending ratchet teeth on the opposite faces of said enlarged head adapted to engage the inner or outer sets of radially extending teeth selectively according to the position of the enlarged head, the depth of the circular socket being sufficient to permit of reciprocating movement of the shank and the enlarged head for the purpose of disengaging the teeth on one face of the head from one of said sets of teeth and carrying the other teeth of the head into engagement with the other of said sets of teeth, and means tending to retain the enlarged head at either end of the circular socket as selected by the operator, substantially as described.

ADOLF STERN. 

